1980s Remix

How two 1980s Alfa saloons have been transformed, using period parts, into much more appealing machines – including a Giulietta 116 converted to V6 power.

- Alex Jupe

It is often the case that the classic cars many of us enthusiasts choose to own in later life are a reflection of the cars we knew growing up. At one end of the scale, it may be an Athena poster car such as a Lamborghini Countach or Ferrari

Testarossa. At the other end, it may be the more mundane roadgoing version of a hallowed touring car, or even just the car you were driven around in by a parent or grandparent in your formative years.

Both the cars featured here are at the lower end of that scale. Arguably you could even say that they’re among the least coveted Alfa Romeos of the 1980s: the Giulietta 116 and the 75. But now, suddenly, just at the point where most of them have disappeared off our roads for good, they are becoming much more sought-after – one rather more so than the other, it has to be said. It’s the red one in our pictures…

At this point, however, I should admit a heavy bias, as the black Giulietta featured here is my own car, one of four that I own. My love for the Giulietta and the Alfa Romeo marque came from my dad having one of the first 116 series Giuliettas sold by our local Alfa dealer, Roy Owen of Cosham. Dad ordered it brand new in 1978 in Alfa Rosso. It arrived three months later than promised in Navy Blue, but dad decided he couldn’t wait any longer so took delivery. I was only four when she was sold. A series of Lotuses came and went, but I recall sitting on dad’s knee and steering around the local car park on a regular basis.